“Mike Honda has dedicated his career to tackling difficult issues and doing what’s right for working people,” Brown said in Honda’s news release. “After leading the local effort to bring BART to San Jose, Mike got $900 million in federal funding for the project, creating 10,000 jobs for the Silicon Valley. Mike is an effective advocate in Congress for his district and all of California – I’m proud to support him.”

Honda, D-San Jose, said he’s “humbled” to have the governor’s support. “His popularity in my district and across the state reflects the impressive comeback California has made under his strong leadership,” Honda said. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I look forward to continuing our work to make important investments in our state and communities.”

Honda, seeking an eighth House term, no doubt also hopes that voters drawn to the polls in November by Brown’s top-of-the-ticket re-election bid will vote for him as well, rather than casting a ballot for his challenger, fellow Democrat and former Obama administration official Ro Khanna of Fremont.

“We congratulate Congressman Honda on this endorsement,” Khanna spokesman Tyler Law said Tuesday. “We only wish he had Governor Brown’s work habits.”

As for other statewide officials, Attorney General Kamala Harris, Controller John Chiang, Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson have endorsed Honda as well, while Lt. Gavin Newsom has endorsed Khanna.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/09/02/ca17-gov-jerry-brown-endorses-mike-honda/feed/3Honda stumped for Brown in 2010Worst. Turnout. Ever.http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/07/11/worst-turnout-ever/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/07/11/worst-turnout-ever/#commentsFri, 11 Jul 2014 23:46:43 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=27262California Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified the June 3 primary election’s results Friday – and voter turnout, it turns out, was the worst ever. Bowen reports only 25.2 percent of registered voters bothered to cast a ballot, the lowest voter turnout of any statewide election in California’s history. The previous low was 29.2 percent […]]]>

Bowen reports only 25.2 percent of registered voters bothered to cast a ballot, the lowest voter turnout of any statewide election in California’s history. The previous low was 29.2 percent in June 2008.

“There is no doubt the turnout number is disappointing, but if ever there was a statewide election where every vote mattered, this was certainly it,” Bowen, the state’s chief elections official, said in a news release. “If there is any silver lining, I hope it’s a reminder to people who didn’t vote in June to take note of close results such as the State Controller contest and commit to going to the polls in November.”

California voters set another record last month: More than 69 percent of those who voted did so by mail-in ballots, beating the previous high of 65 percent in June 2012.

Bowen will publish a Supplement to the Statement of Vote by November 8, which will include details about how votes were cast by each city and each legislative, congressional, county supervisorial district, and Board of Equalization district.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/07/11/worst-turnout-ever/feed/9worst turnout everPerez might seek recount in controller’s racehttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/07/01/perez-might-seek-recount-in-controllers-race/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/07/01/perez-might-seek-recount-in-controllers-race/#commentsTue, 01 Jul 2014 21:04:03 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=27166This just in from Assembly Speaker Emeritus John Perez, who election returns show fell 481 votes short of fellow Democrat Board of Equalization member Betty Yee in their race to finish second in the primary election for state controller: “After nearly a month of counting votes and a vote margin of just 1/100th of one […]]]>

This just in from Assembly Speaker Emeritus John Perez, who election returns show fell 481 votes short of fellow Democrat Board of Equalization member Betty Yee in their race to finish second in the primary election for state controller:

“After nearly a month of counting votes and a vote margin of just 1/100th of one percent, out of more than 4 million votes cast, nobody would like to the see this process completed more than we would. Since this is one of closest statewide elections in the history of California, we have an obligation to review and ensure that every vote cast is accurately counted. During our review, we will also determine whether a recount is warranted.”

If these results remain unchanged, Yee will face off against first-place primary finisher Ashley Swearengin, Fresno’s Republican mayor, in November’s general election. The 481 votes by which Yee leads Perez represents 0.012 percent of the 4,039,375 total votes cast in the primary election for controller.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/07/01/perez-might-seek-recount-in-controllers-race/feed/3John PerezCA15: More time for a recount… if Corbett askshttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/25/ca15-more-time-for-a-recount-if-corbett-asks/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/25/ca15-more-time-for-a-recount-if-corbett-asks/#commentsWed, 25 Jun 2014 22:47:14 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=27158Contrary to what was reported here last week, state Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett has not yet run out of time to request a recount of her apparent defeat in this month’s primary election for the 15th Congressional District. After Contra Costa County’s results update on Tuesday afternoon, Corbett, D-Hayward, trails Republican candidate Hugh Bussell […]]]>

Contrary to what was reported here last week, state Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett has not yet run out of time to request a recount of her apparent defeat in this month’s primary election for the 15th Congressional District.

After Contra Costa County’s results update on Tuesday afternoon, Corbett, D-Hayward, trails Republican candidate Hugh Bussell of Livermore by 430 votes in their battle to finish second after Rep. Eric Swalwell. The second-place finisher, of course, will go on to face Swalwell, D-Dublin, in November’s general election.

A spokesman for Alameda County Registrar Tim Dupuis had said Friday that candidates have five calendar days after the election results are certified – which Dupuis did Friday – in which to request a recount. But Dupuis said Wednesday that because this district spans two counties, candidates actually have five days starting on the 29th day following the election; the 29th day will be July 2, so a recount can be requested up until July 7.

Dupuis said Corbett has not yet requested a recount. Corbett hasn’t returned several calls over the past two weeks seeking comment on her intentions.

Most of the district is in Alameda County, where Corbett beat Bussell by 1,048 votes. But it also includes a small piece of Contra Costa County as well, where Bussell outperformed Corbett by 1,461 votes.

Corbett hasn’t returned six phone calls over the past 10 days, including one this afternoon, inquiring about her intentions (though her Senate staff has issued 10 news releases about her activity in Sacramento during that time). Depuis has not yet received any request from her for a recount, spokesman Guy Ashley said.

Contra Costa Registrar Joe Canciamilla said all his county’s ballots are now counted except for about 4,000 with damages, soiling or errors; only a fraction of those would fall in the 15th District, most of which falls in Alameda County where counting was completed earlier this week.

“Based on the data from this run that I have just been given, I don’t think it will make much of a difference in the outcomes,” Canciamilla said. “The close races have margins that are remaining pretty much the same.”

Corbett, D-Hayward, did not return phone calls Friday afternoon. The most recent item on her campaign’s Facebook page was posted Tuesday.

“As we await the final vote tally, I want to take a moment to thank my many supporters, volunteers, and team for an outstanding show of support and dedication,” she wrote. “Together we have shown East Bay voters a real difference and why it matters.”

“It still feels like we’re 95 percent there to crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s,” he said. “It isn’t quite official yet and the margin is so slender, and no matter who ends up the winner, it certainly was a great battle.”

“Obviously I’m very pleased with how things have turned out at this point … and I’m looking forward to stepping up the pace between now and November,” Bussell added.

As of Friday’s update, Swalwell, D-Dublin, had finished first with 42,386 votes, or 49.1 percent of all those cast. Given that Corbett ran as a more progressive candidate while Bussell ran as a more conservative candidate, he seems well-situated in the middle to pick up many of Corbett’s votes come November.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/13/ca15-hope-fades-for-ellen-corbett/feed/7Hugh BussellCA15: Bussell’s lead over Corbett has been halvedhttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/11/ca15-bussells-lead-over-corbett-has-been-halved/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/11/ca15-bussells-lead-over-corbett-has-been-halved/#commentsThu, 12 Jun 2014 00:43:36 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=27072Republican Hugh Bussell’s narrow lead over state Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett in the 15th Congressional District was halved by an election-results update posted Wednesday afternoon by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Bussell, of Livermore, and Corbett, D-San Leandro, are vying to finish second in the race; whoever prevails will face Rep. Eric Swalwell, […]]]>

Bussell, of Livermore, and Corbett, D-San Leandro, are vying to finish second in the race; whoever prevails will face Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, in November’s general election. Swalwell finished first with 49.1 percent of the vote in last Tuesday’s primary.

Since the previous update on Saturday, Bussell had led Corbett by 721 votes, or about 1 percent of all votes cast. But after the update at 4 p.m. Wednesday, his lead is now 323 votes, or about four-tenths of a percent.

However, this might be as close as Corbett gets.

This now Alameda County’s “unofficial final” result, spokesman Guy Ashley said Wednesday afternoon – all ballots have now been scanned, and the county is now starting its one-percent manual tally to audit its results, as required by law.

The district also includes a slice of Contra Costa County, where registrar Joe Canciamilla won’t update his online results until Friday; as of Monday, his county had about 6,000 provisional ballots and about 4,000 exception ballots – damaged or otherwise questionable – left to count.

But Bussell has led Corbett in Contra Costa County all along, so it’s unlikely that further results there will help her.

Corbett could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/11/ca15-bussells-lead-over-corbett-has-been-halved/feed/3CA15: Corbett still lags as uncounted ballots wanehttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/ca15-corbett-still-lags-as-uncounted-ballots-wane/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/ca15-corbett-still-lags-as-uncounted-ballots-wane/#commentsTue, 10 Jun 2014 00:48:54 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=27010A Saturday update in Alameda County’s ballot tally didn’t help state Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett gain any ground in her bid to finish second in the 15th Congressional District race. As of now, Corbett, D-Hayward, trails Republican Hugh Bussell by 721 votes, or about 1 percent of all votes cast in the race; before […]]]>

As of now, Corbett, D-Hayward, trails Republican Hugh Bussell by 721 votes, or about 1 percent of all votes cast in the race; before Saturday’s update, she’d been trailing by 713 votes. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, finished with a more-than-comfortable 49.3 percent of the vote to Bussell’s 25.9 percent and Corbett’s 24.9 percent.

Alameda County, which contains most of the district, still has about 4,500 ballots (1,000 vote-by-mail and about 3,500 provisional) to process county-wide; a spokesman said the registar will next update the results on his website Tuesday afternoon. Contra Costa County has about 10,000 (6,000 provisional and 4,000 exceptions – damaged or otherwise questionable vote-by-mail ballots); registrar Joe Canciamilla said he’ll next update the results on his website Friday before 5 p.m.

But Bussell has basically maintained the same lead as the number of ballots still outstanding has dwindled tremendously since last Wednesday, and so it’s growing ever more unlikely that the relative few ballots remaining will suddenly turn the tide.

Corbett couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/ca15-corbett-still-lags-as-uncounted-ballots-wane/feed/9Ellen CorbettMichael Bloomberg maxed out to Marshall Tuckhttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/michael-bloomberg-maxed-out-to-marshall-tuck/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/michael-bloomberg-maxed-out-to-marshall-tuck/#commentsMon, 09 Jun 2014 20:37:55 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=26990Billionaire Michael Bloomberg made a max-out $13,600 contribution to Marshall Tuck’s campaign for Superintendent of Public Instruction shortly before last week’s election, according to a report filed Monday with the Secretary of State’s office. Bloomberg – the moderate Republican independent former New York City mayor and founder of his namesake global financial data and news […]]]>

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/michael-bloomberg-maxed-out-to-marshall-tuck/feed/1Marshall TuckSD10: Mary Hayashi’s last-minute contributionshttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/sd10-mary-hayashis-last-minute-contributions/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/06/09/sd10-mary-hayashis-last-minute-contributions/#commentsMon, 09 Jun 2014 20:19:16 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=26986Former Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, who was eliminated in last week’s primary election for the 10th State Senate District, reported a few pre-election contributions right after the vote. On Thursday, she reported having received $1,000 from Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, on May 31; Bass was Assembly Speaker during the second of Hayashi’s three Assembly terms. […]]]>

On Thursday, she reported having received $1,000 from Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, on May 31; Bass was Assembly Speaker during the second of Hayashi’s three Assembly terms.

And on Friday, she reported having received $2,500 from San Ramon-based Chevron Corp. on June 2. That’s interesting in light of Hayashi’s opposition to fracking, and her attack upon rival Democrat Bob Wieckowski for not supporting a moratorium; Chevron semi-notoriously provided free pizza to residents near the site of a fracking explosion and fire this past February in Pennsylvania.

Hayashi, perhaps best known for her 2012 shoplifting conviction for which she’s still on probation, finished third behind Wieckowski and Republican Peter Kuo.